State  Superintendent, 

MADISON,  WISCONSIN. 


A Circular  Relating  to  School  Libraries. 


To  Town  Treasurers  and  Town  Clerks: 

Several  important  amendments  pertaining  especially  to  the 
duties  of  Town  Treasurers  and  Town  Clerks  with  reference  to 
school  libraries,  are  embodied  in  Chapter  47,  Laws  of  1895,  known 
as  the  Town  Library  Law.  The  text  of  the  law  is  given  in  this  cir- 
cular for  the  convenience  of  those  concerned  immediately  in  car- 
rying out  the  provisions  of  the  act.  The  attention  of  Town 
Treasurers  is  invited  to  Sec.  1,  which  makes  it  mandatory  “to 
withhold  annually  * * * an  amount  equal  to  ten  cents  for 

each  person  of  school  age  residing  in  such  districts  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books  as  hereinafter  provided.”  Heretofore  the  reten- 
tion of  the  money  for  the  purchase  of  books  has  been  optional 
with  Town  Treasurers.  Section  II  provides  that  the  Town  Clerk 
in  expending  the  money,  shall  call  to  his  assistance  the  county 
superintendent.  The  county  superintendents  are  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  individual  needs  of  the  schools  under  their 
supervision  and  can  therefore  gWe  valuable  aid  in  the  selection 
and  distribution ^of  books  for  the  libraries.  Sections  III  and  IV 
are  practically  unchanged.  Section  V directs  that,  “during  the 
periods  that  the  school  is  in  session,  the  library  shall  be  placed  in 
the  school  house  and  the  teacher  shall  act  as  librarian  under  the 
supervision  of  the  district  clerk  or  of  the  librarian  elected  at  the 
annual  meeting.”  Will  the  Town  Clerks  kindly  call  the  attention 
of  District  Clerks  to  this  provision?  The  provisions  of  section  VI 
could  not  be  carried  out  in  full  this  year  because  there  was  an 
insufficient  number  of  Farm  Institute  Bulletins  to  supply  one  to 
each  school  library,  as  explained  in  a previous  circular  to  Town 
Clerks  from  this  department. 

Any  further  information  desired  by  officers  charged  with  the 
enforcement  of  this  law  will  be  promptly  furnished  by  the  state 
superintendent. 

Respectfully  yours, 

J.  Q EMERY, 

June  8, 1895.  State  Superintendent. 


CHAPTER  47,  LAWS  OF  1895. 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES. 

Section  1.  The  treasurer  of  each  town  in 
this  state  shall  withhold  anually  from  the 
money  received  from  the  school  fund  income 
for  the  several  school  districts  whose  school- 
houses  are  located  in  the  town  of  which  he  is  the 
treasurer,  an  amount  equal  to  ten  cents  for  each 
person  of  school  age  residing  in  such  districts 
for  the  purchase  of  books  as  hereinafter  pro- 
vided. 

Section  2.  Between  the  tenth  day  of  July 
and  the  thirty-first  day  of  August  in  each  year, 
the  town  clerk,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
county  superintendent  of  schools,  shall  expend 
all  money  withheld  by  the  town  treasurer  as 
provided  in  section  1,  of  this  act,  in  the  purchase 
of  books  selected  from  the  lists  prepared  by  the 
state  superintendent  as  hereinafter  provided, 
for  the  use  of  the  several  school  districts  from 
which  money  has  been  so  withheld,  and  he  shall 
distribute  the  books  thus  selected  and  pur- 
chased, among  the  several  school  districts,  in 
proportion  to  the  sums  of  money  withheld  from 
each. 

Section  3.  It  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of 
the  state  superintendent  to  prepare  annually 
or  biennially,  as  he  may  deem  necessary,  lists 
of  books  suitable  for  use  in  school  district  libra- 
ries, and  furnish  copies  of  such  lists  to  each 
town  clerk  and  each  county  superintendent,  as 
often  as  the  same  shall  be  published  or  re- 


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vised,  from  which  lists  the  several  town  clerks 
shall  select  and  purchase  books  for  use  in  the 
public  school  libraries  in  the  several  towns  of 
the  state  as  provided  in  this  act. 

Section  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  town 
clerk  to  keep  a complete  record  of  the  books 
purchased  by  him  and  distributed  to  the  sev- 
eral school  districts,  in  a record  book  furnished 
by  the  state  superintendent  upon  application, 
and  he  is  hereby  authorized  from  time  to  time, 
as  he  may  deem  necessary,  to  collect  and  redis- 
tribute among  the  several  school  districts  the 
books,  purchased  under  the!  provisions  of  this 
act,  in  the  same  manner  as  provided  for  first  dis- 
tribution, to  the  end  that  each  district  may  have 
the  use  of  all  books  purchased  for  use  in  the 
school  district  libraries  of  the  town.  For  such 
services  properly  rendered,  the  town  clerk  shall 
be  allowed  the  usual  per  diem  of  two  dollars  for 
the  time  actually  and  necessarily  spent. 

Section  5.  Unless  the  school  district  shall, 
at  the  annual  meeting,  elect  some  other  person 
to  be  librarian  of  the  district,  the  district  clerk 
shall  act  as  librarian  for  the  district  and  shall 
receive  and  have  the  care  and  custody  of  the 
books,  distributed  to  the  district,  pursuant  to 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  shall  loan  them 
to  teachers,  pupils  and  other  residents  of  the 
district  in  accordance  with  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations prescribed  by  the  state  superintendent. 
It  is  further  provided  that  during  the  periods 
that  the  school  is  in  session  the  library  shall 
be  placed  in  the  schoolhouse  and  the  teacher 
shall  act  as  librarian  under  the  supervision  of 
the  district  clerk  or  of  the  librarian  elected  at 
the  annual  meeting.  The  state  superintendent 
shall  have  authority  to  suspend  the  operation 
of  this  act  for  any  year  in  any  or  every  town, 
by  giving  due,  notice  of  such  suspension  to  the 
respective  town  clerks  on  or  before  the  tenth 
day  of  June. 

Section  6.  The  superintendent  of  farm  insti- 
tutes shall  deposit,  each  year,  with  the  state 
superintendent  of  public/  instruction  a sufficient 


number  of  copies  of  the  farm  institute  bulletin 
to  supply  every  public  school  library  of  the  state 
with  one  copy  of  each  addition  of  said  bulletin, 
which  bulletins  the  state  superintendent  shall 
send  to  the  various  town  clerks  who  shall  dis- 
tribute them  to  the  public  school  libraries  of 
the  schools  in  their  respective  towns,  from 
which  libraries  the  said  bulletins  shall  be 
loaned  in  like  manner  and  under  the  shme  reg- 
ulations prescribed  for  the  loaning  of  books 
from  the  public  school  libraries  of  the  state. 


